The Brooklyn Nets have been involved in a lot of rumors this offseason regarding what kind of direction they will go in as a franchise. While the Nets have been linked to Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard since Game 3 of Brooklyn’s first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, it seems that any trade between the teams is becoming more unlikely as the 2023 NBA Draft approaches.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Portland is prepared to offer the third overall pick in Thursday’s draft along with guard Anfernee Simons for Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges, but they the Nets are not willing to accept that deal. Because of this, per Lowe, some NBA executives believe that the Nets are essentially overvaluing Bridges in comparison to the alleged trade offered by the Trail Blazers.
It seems that the Nets and the Trail Blazers are at an impasse as it seems that both organizations want to add help around their best player instead of trading them. Brooklyn is not obligated to go after Lillard, but if the Nets are not able to trade for a player of Lillard’s caliber, that will make having successful playoff runs in the near future harder to pull off.
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